a) Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns the technical field of the continuous casting of liquid metal, for example liquid steel.
b) Description of the Related Art
In a liquid metal casting installation, the liquid metal is generally transferred from a pouring ladle to a distributor, intended to distribute the liquid metal in casting moulds. In order to transfer the liquid from the ladle to the distributor, a regulation valve is generally used, disposed at the bottom of the pouring ladle. This regulation valve, referred to as a “slide valve”, is generally composed of two superimposed plates, sliding one with respect to the other so that the valve can take a closed configuration, during which the pouring ladle can be moved, and an open configuration, allowing liquid to pass for transfer thereof into the distributor. To provide the opening and closing of the regulation valve, a device is used for driving the valve, attached to the pouring ladle or to the valve, when the pouch arrives close to the distributor.
An example of a driving device is described in the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,015. This driving device comprises a hydraulic actuator, provided with a cylinder temporarily fixed to the valve. The end of the rod of the actuator is also coupled to one of the plates of the valve, to open or close it. For this purpose, the end of the rod comprises a coupling jaw in which one end of the moving part of the valve containing the moving plate snaps.
Thus, in order to mount the driving device on the valve, the cylinder of the actuator is first of all attached to the valve, and then the actuator rod and plate are coupled by moving the actuator rod in one direction, hereinafter referred to as the longitudinal direction. Later, at the end of the casting operations, in order to remove the driving device from the valve, the end of the moving plate of the jaw is withdrawn by effecting a sliding of the entire driving device (and therefore of the jaw) in a transverse direction, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Thus, as the driving device must be demounted by moving in the transverse direction, it is necessary to provide sufficient space under the pouring ladle for implementation thereof.
However, the bottom part of the pouring ladle is generally very encumbered, for example by reinforcements, feet of the ladle, arrangements for injecting bubbles in the bottom of the ladle, pipes, etc. As a result the step of demounting the driving device poses difficulties.